Veteran community remembers Pearl Harbor

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WFHR / WIRI) – December 7th is Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, “A Day That Will Live in Infamy.” Post Commander Shawn Plante  says Buckley Baldwin VFW Post #2534 is one of only three in the state who continue the tradition.

“Sunday is our annual Pearl Harbor Remembrance ceremony. It starts at 10 o’clock. It’s at the Donald J. Knuth Memorial Hall in Wisconsin Rapids. It’s a little bit of history and a little bit of celebration about the remembrance of Pearl Harbor Day.”

Following the ceremony at VFW Post #2534, food and fellowship will be available for all at the Wisconsin Rapids Elks Lodge #693.

History of the attack on Pearl Harbor

On December 7th, 1941 Japanese planes destroyed or damaged 19 US warships and 300 aircraft in less than ninety minutes according to the National WWII Museum. More than 2,400 US servicemembers were killed, almost half from the USS Arizona. The battleship sank within minutes after a bomb ignited more than a million pounds of ammunition in its forward magazine.

Mike “Gunner” Pohl spoke at the 2024 ceremony

During last year’s ceremony in Wisconsin Rapids, special guest Mike ‘Gunner’ Pohl presented the Two Bells Ceremony. Pohl is a U.S. Coast Guard Veteran with Fleet Reserve Association Branch 238. He honored the memory of those killed in the attack and those who survived and served to keep the United States free during WWII.

“Remember Bunker Hill. Remember the Alamo. Remember the (USS) Arizona. Remember Pearl Harbor,” intoned Pohl during his opening remarks. “These phrases have a very important place in our hearts and in our nation’s history,” he continued. “The last one we honor on this day.”

The 2024 ceremony was the last time ‘Gunner’ said he would present the Two Bells Ceremony. He closed with the following:

“I am forever grateful to the men and women who now sleep in peace that were attending mass, playing catch on the pier, working on planes, whatever they were doing that Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor and suddenly thrust into combat,” concluded Pohl.

The number of survivors of those who served in Pearl Harbor during the attack are dwindling as many are now into their 90s or 100s. In April of this year, one of the oldest known survivors, Vaughn P. Drake Jr., died at the age of 106.

Other remembrance days across Wisconsin

While veterans across the nation pause to remember and honor this day, the other two ceremonies on December 7th in Wisconsin include: The Civil War Museum in Kenosha. Presented by the Navy Club, Ship 40 and the Milwaukee County War Memorial, presented by AMVETS in the Veterans Gallery.